Emissive display blended with diffuse reflection

ABSTRACT

An apparatus providing a viewer with a blend of displayed and reflected content. The apparatus includes an emissive display device with a display screen operable providing digital content. The emissive display device includes a light source selectively articulating and transmitting light through the display screen at a particular illumination level to display digital content such as text and graphics. The apparatus includes a thematic overlay positioned over the display screen with a front surface configured to provide diffuse reflection of light striking the front surface from a viewer space such that the front surface appears substantially opaque to the viewer and the viewer cannot see the display screen when the light source is inactive or at low brightness. When the light source is in active mode, the displayed content is visible as emissive display content concurrently with the diffuse reflection content but the display screen remains hidden from view.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Description

One of the reasons these display devices have become ubiquitous is theease of changing content and/or messaging on the display quickly andeffortlessly, which may equate to reduced costs, efficiencies inproviding new and changing content, and up-to-date information. Further,the costs of LCDs and other display devices have continued to decreaseover time while the size of such displays can range from very smallscreens to many square feet so that these devices are desirable anduseful in many business models.

2. Relevant Background

In many settings, information and images are continuously beingpresented to viewers or people passing by a location. For example,shopping malls and airport terminals are filled with displays providinginformation and advertisements. Many of these displays are built uparound conventional television monitors and displays such as liquidcrystal display (LCD) and plasma display devices. These displays havebecome a standard tool for advertisement, reprogrammable signage,information stations, and menu boards.

One of the reasons these display devices have become ubiquitous is theease of changing content and/or messaging on the display quickly andeffortlessly, which may equate to reduced costs, efficiencies inproviding new and changing content, and up-to-date information. Further,the costs of LCDs and other display devices has continued to decreaseover time while the size of such displays can range from very smallsscreens to many square feet so that these devices are desirable anduseful in many business models.

However, in many settings, the use of conventional displays such as anLCD is undesirable. For example, theme parks and other settings such asrestaurants often would prefer not to use an LCD or similar device dueto the conventional TV-based aesthetics. These settings may have takenconsiderable effort to provide a thematic decorative scene and simplyplacing an LCD or similar display would spoil the desired effect. Forexample, a television simply looks out of place in a colonial village orin a wizard's store front. Similarly, it would not be theme-appropriateto use an LCD as a menu board in a “wild west” restaurant or arenaissance fair booth.

Lightbox-type displays are an alternative to emissive displays such asLCDs that provide eye-catching graphics using slides or films that arebacklit. The slides or films filter and diffuse the backlight as well asdiffusively reflect ambient light. Typical backlighting is provided bywhite light produced by incandescent, fluorescent, LED or similar lightsource. Lightboxes are eye-catching in that they provide high definitiongraphics (e.g., higher definition than is practical in an LCD monitor)and rich illuminated colors. However, conventional lightboxes are static(in the case of single-slide models) or slow changing (in the case ofmulti-slide models) making them impractical for dynamically changinginformation displays.

Hence, there remains a need for displaying content that can readily bechanged and updated, such as menu boards, advertisements, informationsignage, and the like, in a manner that is more theme-based and notsimply in the form of a television monitor, a computer display screen,or other electronic display device. Further, there is a need for displaydevices and methods for displaying information that provide the rich,eye-catching graphic appeal of a lightbox type display but at the sametime provide the ability to present dynamically changing information.

SUMMARY

The present description addresses the above problems by providing adisplay system that is adapted to blend digital content displayed on amonitor or other emissive display screen with content provided bydiffuse light transmission and reflection. This may be achieved in partby providing an emissive display device such as a liquid crystal display(LCD), light emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light emitting diode(OLED) displays, a digital micromirror device (DMD), a cathode ray tube(CRT) and other available emissive display technology in combinationwith a thematic overlay such as a light diffusing display element orlight balancing component in the for in of a slide or diffusive film orthe like. The diffusive film may diffuse transmitted light, reflectedlight or both and may provide an image pattern. In one embodiment, thethematic overlay has a front surface that appears to a viewer to beopaque as it reflects light so that a viewer sees its surface and any“content” thereon (such as a printed graphic or text or just itspatterns, colors, and so on). When the emissive display device isoperated in an active or “lit” mode, its displayed content istransmitted through the thematic overlay such that the viewerconcurrently sees a blend of this emissive display content and theimagery or other effect provided by the thematic overlay. In the displaysystem, the illumination levels of the emissive display device (e.g.,LCD or the like) are chosen to suit the illumination levels of aviewer-side light source(s) such that the brightness of the emissivedisplay blends with that of the reflected display.

More particularly, an apparatus is provided for displaying content to aviewer in a viewer space. The apparatus or display system includes anemissive display device with a display screen operable to providedigital content. The emissive display device further includes a lightsource for selectively articulating and transmitting light (e.g., an LCDor plasma display device providing 400 to 1000 nit or more) through thedisplay screen such that the digital content is visible as displayedcontent on a surface of the display screen at a particular illuminationlevel. The apparatus further includes a thematic overlay or lightbalancing overlay positioned over the display screen. in someembodiments, the thematic overlay includes a second (e.g., a rear)surface facing the display screen and a first (e.g., a front) surface,opposite the second surface, that is configured to provide diffusion tothe pixels of the emissive display from the viewer's space and/orreflection of light striking the first surface (through another layer ofstatic content imagery) from the viewer space such that the frontsurface appears substantially opaque to the viewer.

In some cases, the light source is first operated in an inactive mode(or non-display mode), and, in such an inactive mode, the display screenis wholly or partially blocked from view by the viewer by the thematicoverlay. The light source may then be second operated in an active mode(or display mode) to transmit the light through the display screen. Inthis active mode, the displayed content is transmitted through thethematic overlay as emissive display content. The light leaving thefront surface is visible by the viewer as diffuse reflection andtransmission content concurrently with the emissive display content. Insome embodiments, the light source is adjustable to set the illuminationlevel at a level such that the emissive display content has a brightnessat least about equal to a brightness of the diffuse reflection andtransmission content. In some cases, the brightness of the light sourceof the display device is adjusted to a level such that a brightness ofthe emissive display content is about 90 to 110 percent of thebrightness of the diffuse reflection such that a viewer cannot readilydistinguish the source of the displayed content. In some embodiments,the diffuse reflection content includes a graphical component with apattern, and the missive display content includes a graphical componentaligned with and repeating the pattern (e.g., repeating the grain ofwood in wood veneer, repeating a color and graphical image in a printedposter, providing physical texture, and the like). In the apparatus, thethematic overlay may include at least one of a panel of wood veneer, aprinted fabric, or a film with printed graphics on the front surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates in functional block form a display system thatincludes an emissive display device and a thematic overlay that enablethe system to blend content that is provided to a viewer via diffusereflection and transmission and also light from the monitor or displayscreen of the emissive display device.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an exemplary display system with its emissivedisplay device in two operating states, i.e., an off or non-display modeand a display mode.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate another exemplary display system similar tothat of FIGS. 2A and 213 operating in two operating states to show thethematic overlay hiding a display or monitor and to show the display ormonitor then operating to emit a displayed content through the thematicoverlay with the display/monitor remaining hidden from view.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of creating a digitalcontent file for use as input to an emissive display device such as anLCD, a plasma display, or the like.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of operating a displaysystem.

FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of a display system showing use of acombination of a fabric layer (e.g., a flexible and/or thin sheet ofmaterial) to provide content provided by the diffuse display element, astructural sheet of transparent to partially translucent material, andmask layer to provide a thematic overlay.

FIG. 7 illustrates a rear or back view of the display system of FIG. 6(i.e., opposite side from a viewer's side or space) with the emissivedisplay device removed to show one configuration of the mask layer todefine an irregular opening or display window to the structural sheetand the fabric or content provided by the diffuse display element layer(and feather the edges of light from the emissive (and feather the edgesof light from the emissive display so as to avoid or limit the presenceof hard edges that may reveal the illusion or the devices components).

FIG. 8 shows a front view or viewer's point-of-view (POV) of the displaysystem of FIG. 6 with the emissive display device operating to display agraphic image or emitted digital content that may be viewed concurrentlywith diffuse reflection and transmission content from the fabric layer(based on available ambient or other viewer-side light source(s)).

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of a display system in which acontent layer is further included in the emissive display device toprovide a three-dimensional (3D) effect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is directed toward display systems that areadapted to blend content emitted from or Shown on a monitor or displayscreen with content, graphic imagery and patterns reflected ortransmitted from a front or exposed surface of a thematic overlay. Thecontent that is reflected and/or transmitted from the thematic overlaymay simply be texture of the display element's surfaces (such as from athin sheet of wood paneling or veneer) or may include images, patterns,text, and the like such as on a sheet of wall paper, a poster, a layerof fabric, prints on clear substrates, physical texture molded into/ontoa surface, and the like.

The thematic overlay is “camouflaging” in that it hides or disguises thepresence of the monitor or display screen both when it is in an “off” orinactive mode and also when it is operated (“on”) or in an active modein which images, gaphics, text, or other digital content is displayed,which results in a set of emissive display content passing through thediffusing display element. The thematic overlay, in addition to beingcamouflaging may be thought of as a screen or element that balances bothlight transmitted and reflected through the material, and, hence, it maybe considered a thematic light balancing overlay or thematic lightnegotiating overlay (with it acting to hide or camouflage the workingcomponents to blend into a thematic environment). Note, the overlay doesnot need to be a material screen but may simply include paint or thelike chosen to have a desired amount of transmission as well asreflection. The content provided by the thematic overlay blends withemissive display content to provide a single combined image to a viewerin which all images and information appears to be reflected (i.e., noprojection is sensed or identified by the viewer) To this end, theillumination level of the monitor or display screen is adjusted or tunedto assist in this blending of the two contents, e.g., by dialing down orshuttering a light source for the monitor/display screen to keep itsillumination level at least at or below that of a viewer-side lightsource (or at the level of the diffuse reflection content in somecases).

The inventors understood that simply placing an LCD or similar emissivedisplay in a themed viewer space (such as found in a theme park and manyother settings) detracts from the viewer's experience. For example,providing a modern product to display information in an old westsetting, in a pirate ship, in a medieval castle, and so on quicklyspoils the time period theming for a visitor. Prior to the displaysystems described herein, designers and operators of themed environmentseither had to avoid use of digital content or had to live with the lookand feel of a rectangular television or monitor hanging in theirotherwise carefully and beautifully crafted environments (or has toconform to static signage and menu boards with content and messages thatwere only updateable by hand). The display systems also address the needor desire to provide displays and interesting effects in small and/orshort spaces in which projectors with large throws are ineffective. Thedisplay systems are rugged and likely have much longer lives than manyexisting projection technologies such as expensive short-throw lensesand projection lamps that may last less than 2000 hours. Further, thedisplay systems are useful in daylight and other higher ambient lightsettings and in changing light level applications (e.g., respond tochanging light levels on the viewer side by increasing or decreasing thepower of the back light source or the like) for a variety of purposessuch as presenting information and advertising content in a compellingand theme/environment-appropriate manner, both indoors and outdoors.

As will become clear from. this description and from their experimentswith ultrahigh brightness LCDs (e.g., up to 1500 nits or more), theinventors have discovered numerous ways to camouflage display devicessuch as LCDs so that they may be utilized in nearly any environmentwithout being visible to a viewer. The display systems implement someguiding lighting principles and specific. materials for the thematicoverlay (which is positioned between the LCD or other display device andthe viewer) that have varying reflective and transmissive qualities(e.g., a partially reflective glass pane, a cloth/fabric sheet, a thinwood or paper layer, or the like). The guiding lighting principlesinclude striking a delicate balance of lighting of the front surface ofthe diffusing layer or element (e.g., the content provided by thethematic overlay layer/surface as termed in FIG. 1) and of lighting ofthe rear surface of the diffusing layer or element with the displayedcontent (e.g., with the display/monitor screen of the emissive displaydevice such as an LCD, a plasma display, a television or computermonitor, or the like with a higher brightness such as 1000 to 1500 nitor more).

The thematic overlay makes use of the concept that all materials, whenstruck by light, to various degrees or amounts: reflect a percentage oflight; absorb a percentage of light; and transmit a percentage of thereceived light. When light strikes the surface of an object or material(such as the front or content-bearing layer/surface of the thematicoverlay), a viewer's eyes perceive the resulting light from that surfaceof the object and the brain articulates its color, textures, luminance,and so on. The display systems described herein make use of relevant andappropriate materials for the theming of the environment and the lightfrom the thematic overlay is typically “diffuse reflection” in that thelight is being reflected from an uneven or granular surface such that anincident ray of light is seemingly reflected at a number of angles(e.g., is not specular reflection from a mirrored surface). Also, thedisplay systems adjust the balances of the light on the front and rearsurface of the thematic overlay to dictate or selectively define whatand when a viewer is able to see a displayed content or only the diffusedisplay element content from the front surface (e.g., by adjusting theoutput light levels of the emissive display device and/or byadjusting/controlling a viewer-side light source to be balanced in a waythat makes all light appear to be reflected and not projected to theviewer's eyes).

In some exemplary display systems, a high resolution, ultra bright LCDmonitor (e.g., 1500 nit or the like) is placed behind a printed chiffon,a real wood thin veneer, a custom printed graphics film, or otherthematic overlay. The monitor's displayed content or media may displayonly video black while the display system is in a dormant or inactivestate (e.g., no light is emitted onto the back of the thematic overlay).The front or viewer-side lighting on the front surface of the thematicoverlay may be adjusted to a level of brightness desired for allowingthe material to reflect its images, textures, colors, patterns, and thelike to a viewer (e.g., a minimal level of illumination or brightnessmay be used to allow a human eye to view this diffuse reflection contentbut not see/detect the monitor positioned behind this element). In thisway, the thematic overlay appears to be solid or relatively thick andopaque, e.g., a plank of wood, a painting with physical brush strokes,or even a paper parchment.

In a next operating state, though, the media or displayed content on themonitor is changed so that it becomes more brightly lit or illuminatedat a high enough level to be transmitted through the thematic overlay(e.g., transmitted out at a brightness similar to that of the reflectedlight). That emissive display content overwhelms the front lightinglevel in the area overlying or adjacent the monitor and dominates theviewer's attention. For example, a viewer may now see the displayedcontent concurrently with adjacent portions of the front surface of thethematic overlay via reflected light. The content may be a menu, anadvertising message, show or other location-specific information, ananimated character, or nearly any other desired visual effect that canbe caused to magically appear and blend into or dominate what the viewerpreviously and often will continue to believe is a solid, opaquesurface.

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of a display system 100 ofone embodiment of the invention. As shown, the system 100 is adapted forproviding a unique blended display of content provided by the thematicoverlay 128 and emissive display content 140 for a viewer 102 located ina viewer space 104 such as a restaurant of an amusement park, a hallwayof an upscale shopping mall, and other places where use of atelevision-type, square or rectangular monitor is undesirable.

To this end, the system 100 includes a thematic overlay or physicalscreen device (or camouflaging display element or lightbalancing/negotiating device) 110 that is positioned proximate to orwithin the viewer space 104 so as to be the portion nearest to theviewer 102. Specifically, the thematic overlay 110 includes a contentprovided by the diffusing display element layer/surface or front surface114 that faces outward into the viewer space 104. The display system 100further includes a viewer-side light source 120 that provides ambient orviewer-side light 124 that strikes the diffusing display element surface114 causing it to be visible to the viewer 102 as shown by the diffusereflection content 128. The light source 120 may take many forms topractice the system 100 such as the Sun or other ambient light sourcesto lighting systems that can have their illumination levels 122controlled or set by a designer of the system 100 to balance thebrightness of light 124 with brightness of displayed content 138 so thatthese contents 128, 140 both appear to be diffuse reflections fromsurface 114.

The display system 100 further includes an emissive display devicepositioned behind the display element 110 so as to face a rear surface116 of the display element (e.g., to project or provide displayedcontent 138 onto the surface 116 when a light source 134 is operated).An important aspect of the display system 100 is that the thematicoverlay 110 is selected or designed to hide or at least disguise thepresence of the display device 130 throughout operation of the displaysystem 100. Specifically, the emissive display device 130 (or at leastits outer frame members so as to hide its rectangular and televisionmonitor-type shape) preferably is not visible to the viewer 102 when thedisplay device 130 is operated in an off or inactive mode (low or nolight levels 136 from source 134) and the viewer-side light source 120is providing ambient or viewer-side light 124. Further, the displaydevice 130 is not readily visible when the light source 134 is operatedin an active or on mode to provide displayed content 138 to the rearsurface 116 (and then transmitted through the display element 110 asemissive display content 140 visible by viewer concurrently with diffusereflection content 128).

To provide this disguising or hiding feature, the thematic overlay 110is configured to be at least partially translucent or transmissive topass the displayed content 138 while also being reflective of the light124. To this end, the element 110 may have a thickness, t, that ischosen to allow light to be transmitted through it from display device130 (with the thickness, t, depending on the material(s) chosen fordisplay element 110 such as a fabric or a wood veneer or a printedscreen/film or the like). The thematic overlay surface 114 may be formedof a printed chiffon with coloring and materials chosen to block theviewer 102 from viewing the display device under highest anticipatedillumination levels 122 of light source 120. In other embodiments, thedisplay element 110 may be a sheet of paper or poster board that istransmissive of displayed content 138 but reflects a substantialpercentage of light 124 to provide the diffuse reflection content 128.In still other cases, the display element 110 may be formed from a thinpanel of wood veneer or similar material that is transmissive of lightstriking surface 116 (such as the displayed content 138) but reflectsmuch of light 124 as diffuse reflection content 128.

In each of these examples, the diffuse reflection content 128 may bethought of as overwhelming the light 124 that passes through the displayelement 110, strikes and is reflected from the monitor screen 132, andis transmitted through the thematic overlay 110 such that the viewer 102perceives the surface 114 as solid and/or opaque and perceives itscontent 128 when the display device is in the inactive operating mode.The thematic overlay surface 114 typically is not a mirrored surfacesuch that the reflection 128 is diffuse reflection not specularreflection, and, to this end, the surface 114 may be porous such as isthe case with many papers, fabrics, wood veneers, and other similarmaterials that may be used for display element. The content 128 viewedby the viewer 102 may simply be the color, texture, and patterns on thesurface 114 (such as brown striations of a wood panel) and/or mayinclude graphics or text such as that useful in providing a themedenvironment for viewer space 104, useful for providing advertisingcontent, and/or useful for providing information (e.g., a menu board, ashow time/information board, and so on).

The display system 100 further includes an emissive display device 130that includes a display or monitor screen 132 facing the rear surface116 of the thematic overlay 110. The screen 132 may be spaced apart somedistance, d_(Spacing), from the surface 116 such as 1 to 6 inches ormore to further disguise the presence of the display device 130 from theviewer 102 while, in some embodiments of system 100, the screen 132abuts the rear surface 116 (such as when the display element 110 isformed of wood veneer or other relatively opaque and/or structurallyrigid materials). The display device 130 includes a light source 134with an adjustable or selectable illumination level 136. It ispreferable that the brightness or illumination level 136 be tunable forthe light source(s) 134 so that the emissive display device 130 can havethe brightness of the displayed content 138 tuned to blend with thediffuse reflection content 128 as emissive display content 140 tofurther avoid detection of the display device 130 (e.g., the content 140appears to have magically appeared on the surface 114 and to he part ofthe diffuse reflection content 128).

The display device 130 may take many forms to practice the system 100(and, of course, more than one monitor screen 132 may be used to providethe device 130). For example, nearly any computer or television-typemonitor may be used for the screen 132 (with the size and shape notbeing limiting to the invention) while some systems utilize highbrightness LCD and/or plasma displays for device 130 such as an LCDdesigned to be Sunlight readable. In some cases, the light source 134may be capable of providing ultra high levels 136 of brightness such asup to 1500 nit or the like.

The display system 100 further includes digital media source/controller150 that may take the form of a computer or similar electronic devicewith a processor 152. The processor 152 manages operation ofinput/output devices 154 (such as keyboards, touchscreens/pads, a mouse,and the like as well as monitors, printers, and so on) to allow anoperator to enter data or instructions (e.g., to manually tune theillumination levels 136, to select display content 170, to generate thecontent files 168, and so on) and to receive output or access portionsof digital content 168 such as via a display of graphical userinterfaces (GUIs) on a monitor 154. The media source 150 may includememory (computer-readable code devices causing computer 150 or processor152 to perform particular functions such the methods of FIGS. 4 and 5).

The processor 152 may execute code/programs in memory 160 such as adisplay program 164 that allows an operator to generate digital contentfiles 168 as well as selectively operate the display device 130 tooutput displayed content 138 by providing display content 170 (fromfiles 168) to display device 130. The display device 130 provides themedia in content 170 on display or monitor screen 132 and it isdisplayed at a brightness in displayed content 138 depending on thesetting of the illumination level 136 of light source 134, which may beset by the display program 164.

In some cases, the illumination level 136 is chosen such that thebrightness or illumination level of the emissive display content 140 isat or below the brightness or illumination level of the diffusereflection content 128. To this end, an operator may provide settings indisplay program 164 for illumination level 136 of light source 134 suchas by manually experimenting and tuning the level 136 based on one ormore illumination levels 122 of the viewer-side light source 120 and aparticular makeup of the display element 110 and content provided by thethematic overlay surface 114. In other cases, the display system 100 mayinclude a light sensor 180 positioned to determine an illumination level122 of the light source 120 (or brightness alight 124 striking thesurface 114 in viewer space). The display program 164 may processbrightness data from sensor 180 to determine an appropriate setting (seelight control signals 184 sent to display device 130) for theillumination level 136 of the light source 134. This setting may bechosen to cause the displayed content 138 to be transmitted through thethematic overlay 110 as emissive display content 140 that desirablyblends with diffuse reflection content 128 (e.g., select a level 134that provides a brightness in display content 140 that matches (or thatis a small amount more than so as to at least overcome/overwhelm thecontent 128 from the portion of the surface 114 that the content 140 isbeing emitted)) or is less bright than that of the reflection content128.

At this point, it may be useful to show a couple of examples ofparticular implementations and operations of display systems such as maybe provided by system 100 and its components. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustratea display system 200 that is operating in an inactive mode or firstoperating state as shown in. FIG. 2A and then in an active mode orsecond operating state as shown in FIG. 2B. The system 200 includes athematic overlay 210 in the form of a thin sheet or panel of woodveneer, with FIGS. 2A and 2B showing the front surface 212 of thedisplay element 210 as it would be seen by a viewer in a viewer space.

The viewer can see the surface 212 with its color (brown and black) andits graphical elements 214 (e.g., natural patterns/striations in thewood itself). The viewer can also see text elements or content 216, 218,219 indicating, in this case, that the display element 210 is being usedto display information pertaining to a restaurant and its offerings. Thetext elements 216, 218, 219 may be printed on the surface 212 in a fontor style that suits the theme of the viewer space containing the displayelement 210. The graphical or surface content 214 and textual content216, 218, 219 is visible by the viewer as diffuse reflection due toreflection of light from a viewer-side light source (or ambient light insome cases) (not shown) from front surface 212, which also causes theviewer to perceive the element 210 as a solid and opaque piece of hisenvironment or viewer space.

The system 200 further includes an emissive display device that is notshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B because it is hidden from view by the thematicoverlay 210. As shown, the viewer cannot see that an LCD or similardevice is positioned directly behind the element 210. Instead, when theemissive display element is operated as shown in FIG. 2A in an off orinactive state (with it showing only black video or with its lightsource off or at very low brightness levels), the viewer can onlyperceive graphical/surface and printed textual content 214, 216, 218,219 on the front surface 212 of the thematic overlay 210.

In FIG. 2B, the emissive display element (such as element 130 shown inFIG. 1) is operated in an on or active mode with its light source at ahigher level to produce the displayed emissive display content (e.g., toovercome the diffuse reflection of light from portions 220, 230). Dashedlines 220, 230 would not be visible to a viewer but, instead, these areshown to illustrate areas where the emissive display monitor or screenis displaying content from a digital content file. In these areas 220,230, the display screen is illuminated to show graphic/surface content224 and 234 as well as textual content 222, 232. Interestingly, thegraphic/surface content 224, 234 is configured to align and match withthe surface/graphic features 214 of the front surface 212 of thethematic overlay 210 (e.g., the background imagery/media 224, 234 is thesame in color/texture and other aspects as the surface 212 and isaligned with existing features 214 of surface 212). In this manner, theviewer finds it difficult to perceive that the images in areas 220, 230are being provided by a display behind the thematic overlay 210. Thetextual content elements 222, 232 may be aligned also with textualelements 218, 219 and may be chosen to match their style, color, size,font, and so on such that these magically appearing elements 222, 232appear to be printed upon the surface 212 similarly to the elements 218,219. For example, the video playing on an LCD may be the same file(e.g., “x”.jpg file) that is printed on the physical material that isplaced in front of the LCD.

The example of FIGS. 2A and 2B may be useful if one wanted to produce adigital menu that looks like it belongs within a particular themeenvironment, e.g., a western frontier or other setting in which veneeror paneling matches the viewer space or surroundings and would notappear to simply be a monitor/display screen. Instead of veneer, ahigh-resolution image of a wooden fence, brick wall., or the like couldhave been provided on a graphics film that could be used as thematicoverlay 210 in place of the veneer panel/sheet. In other cases, fabricor paper material printed as wallpaper is adhered to a wall that has acutout behind a portion for the monitor or display screen of theemissive display device. Another version may include a transparencyprint on acetate with an opaque printed outer zone gradated to the cleartransmission zones.

In the illustrated example, it is recognized that wood veneers can bemade so thin that they have translucent qualities while still hiding thepresence of the emissive display device (as apparent from FIGS. 2A and2B where the emissive display device cannot be seen but is used toprovide emissive display content in spaces 220, 230). The media ordigital content files providing the emissive display content for themonitor may include customized fonts and artwork that is displayed onthe monitor and visible to a viewer through the thematic overlay.

The design of the emissive display content preferably blends with thelook and feel (graphical and textual elements provided on the frontsurface) of the thematic overlay and is provided at a tunable orselectable brightness from the monitor or display screen by operation ofa backlighting source. In some embodiments, the display system includescomponents or members that allow the front or ambient lighting levels tobe defined to selectively light the front surface of the thematicoverlay. In this example, the menu content may be changed at any timefrom a connecting computer workstation and its software (such assource/controller 150 in FIG. 1) or hardware/software provided in theemissive display device without harming or ruining the theming of theviewer space. For example, the emissive display device may be a 16:9video screen (e.g., an LCD or the like), and viewer or guest in theviewer space would not notice or detect the video screen or be able todetermine how the information was changed or updated on the menu board.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate another display system 300 that may be usedto present information that may be updated within artwork or a graphicalposter in a room or viewer space 310. The viewer space or themedenvironment 310 includes a wall 312 and a viewer-side light source 314that may be set at one or more illumination levels to provide ambientlight in the room/space 310. The display system 300 further includes anemissive display device 320 behind (and hidden from view by) a diffusingdisplay device 330 hung on wall 312. The emissive display device 320 isoperating in a first or inactive state in FIG. 3A (i.e., at no or lowillumination levels). In FIG. 3A, it can be seen that the emissivedisplay device 320 is not readily visible with light from source 314 butthis light causes diffuse reflection content from front surface 332 ofthe thematic overlay 330 to reach the viewer's eye including textualand/or graphical elements/components 334.

In FIG. 3B, the emissive display device 320 is operated at a higherillumination level such that emissive display content is provided inspace or area 350 through the front surface 332 of diffusing displaydevice 330. The emissive display content is visible concurrently withthe graphical images 334 (which are visible via diffuse reflection oflight from source 314). To provide proper blending (e.g., such that noprojection is detected), the content in area 350 may include graphicalor background components 358 that match graphical elements 334 onsurface 332 in color, style, texture, pattern, size, and location (e.g.,proper alignment). Further, the content in area 350 may includetext-based information 356 in a style that suits the theme ofroom/viewer space 310. In the example, the emissive display content 356provides information regarding an upcoming musical show or event, and itwill be understood why it is desirable to be able to readily change thecontent 356 on an ongoing (daily, weekly, monthly, or the like) basis,and this updating can be done by updating the digital content files usedas a source of display content for the emissive display device (e.g.,change the text 356 to show a new band is playing but retain the alignedand theme-matched background/graphical components 358).

Again, the brightness or illumination levels of the emissive displaydevice 320 is tuned or chosen to suit the thickness and materials of thethematic overlay 330 and also the brightness of light 314 in viewerspace 310 so as to cause the content 356, 358 to be visible over diffusereflection in the display space or area 350 while not being so high thatthe monitor or screen of the emissive display device 320 is readilyperceived by a viewer in space 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for generating a digital content filesuch as one of the files 168, that is used to provide content to anemissive display device for displaying through a thematic overlay (withdiffuse reflection content). The method 400 starts at 410 such as withplanning of the type of effect or display that is desired as well as thetheming and environment in which the display system will be used. Themethod 400 continues at 420 with selecting a thematic overlay with aparticular content provided by the thematic overlay surface. Asdiscussed above, this display element may be a sheet of fabric and thecontent surface may have a printed pattern with graphic and/or textualcomponents while other embodiments may utilize wood veneer with orwithout printed text/images or a plastic/paper sheet with printedgraphics/text, and have the ability to digitally augment it.

At 430, a digital image file is created for the content provided by thediffuse display element surface such as by creating a digital image ofthe front surface that is stored in memory of a computer system (such asdigital media source 150 in FIG. 1). In some cases, a digital image willbe used in step 420 to create the content provided by the diffusedisplay element surface, and this digital image file may be retrieved at430 for use in creating an emissive content file. The file created instep 430 will define the surface pattern, shapes, text, colors, andother information associated with the images/text visible via diffusereflection from the front surface of the thematic overlay. At 440, themethod 400 includes generating or retrieving display content. In otherwords, the content that a designer wishes to display is retrieved frommemory or is created in step 440 and may include textual information fora menu, for an advertisement, or the like arid/or may include graphicalelements or video. The range of content that may be displayed is nearlylimitless, but it may be selected and designed at 440 to suit the themeof the viewer space/environment in which the display system is intendedfor use (such as a western motif, a medieval castle, a luxury shoppingmall, a tropical island village, and so on)

At 450, the method 400 includes adding or inserting the display contentinto the content provided by the diffuse display element surface filefrom step 430 to create a media or digital display file for an emissivedisplay device. At 460, this file is then stored in memory that isaccessible by the media source or controller (e.g., device 150 ofFIG. 1) or directly by the emissive display device. The method 400 maythen end at 490 or more digital content files may be generated for thesame or other emissive display devices. At 450, the display content fromstep 440 may need to be manipulated so as to properly align withexisting components of the content provided by the diffuse displayelement surface arid/or to better suit its size, style, theme, or otheraspects. For example, step 450 may involve retaining the backgroundgraphical images from the reflective surface and overlaying textualcontent from step 440 and then aligning the background images andtextual content with adjacent portions of the content provided by thediffuse display element surface (e.g., the displayed content typicallywill only be a portion of the reflective surface content and preferablyis matched and aligned with surrounding/adjacent portions of thereflective surface that are viewed concurrently by a viewer).

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 of operating a display system (such assystem 100 of FIG. 1) so as to properly blend the content provided bythe thematic overlay with the emissive content to hide the presence ofthe display screen or monitor of the emissive display device. The method500 starts at 510 such as by selecting an emissive display device and athematic overlay, e.g., choosing a printed film for the thematic overlayand a Sunlight readable LCD for the emissive display device when thethematic overlay has a front surface exposed to Sunlight or very brightlights. At 520, the method 500 continues with positioning the emissivedisplay device behind the thematic overlay which may include aligningits display screen with a desired portion of the rear surface of thethematic overlay.

At 530, the method 500 may include initially operating the emissivedisplay device at a first operating state (or non-display or inactivemode) in which it displays black video images or its light sources are“off” or dormant so that no emissive content is displayed through thethematic overlay. At 536, the controller or media source may respond toa display program to determine whether the display should be activated,and, if no, the emissive display device is retained in the firstoperating or inactive state.

If yes at 536, the method 500 continues with the controller detecting at540 illumination levels in the viewer space (e.g., at the contentprovided by the diffuse display element surface) or choosing from one ormore default illumination levels expected in viewer space. At 550, themethod 500 continues with adjusting or setting illumination (orbrightness) levels of the light source of the emissive display device tosuit the viewer-side light levels. In other words, the emissive displaydevice may be manually or automatically (via the controller/media sourceor the like) tuned to illuminate its monitor or display screencontaining the emissive display content at levels such that the emissivedisplay content transmitted out from the reflective display surface isable to be viewed by a viewer rather than the diffuse reflection fromthe emissive display area on this surface. This may call for the samebrightness (or percentage higher brightness such as several percent to10 percent or more increased brightness at the rear surface of thediffusing display device to cause the content to be transmitted throughthis device's thickness and also be visible with or over the light beingreflected to the viewer).

At 560, the method 500 continues with operating the emissive displaydevice to display the digital content files at the selected brightnesslevels, and this causes the viewer of content provided by the thematicoverlay surface to concurrently perceive or view content provided by thethematic overlay and emissive display content (such as contents 128, 140of FIG. 1). The method 500 may then continue with returning the emissivedisplay device in the first or inactive operating mode at 530 and/ordetecting changes in illumination levels in the viewer space or at thecontent provided by the diffuse display element surface at 540. Themethod 500 may also include at 570 determining whether the displaycontent is to be updated (e.g., change a menu board to show new mealchoices to change from breakfast to lunch or from lunch to dinner). Ifnot, the method 500 may loop back or may end at 590. If yes, the method500 may continue at 580 with retrieving a next content file from memoryof the media source and then continuing with step 540 (or directly tostep 560 if there is not changes to the illumination level of theemissive display device).

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a display system 600 that maybe used to provide a display that blends content provided by the diffusedisplay element with displayed content so as to disguise the use of amonitor/display screen. The display system 600 is shown to include anemissive display device 610 such as an LCD TV or the like with a monitoror display screen 614. The system 600 further includes a masking element620 such as a thin sheet of transparent material (plastic, glass, or thelike) that includes a mask that disguises the shape and/or boundaries ofthe screen 614 (e.g., an opaque layer of paint on a surface of the thinsheet that may be irregular in shape to hide portions of the screen 614to change the shape of the screen 614 should it be visible via reflectedor emitted light), with both hard or a feathered gradation.

The system 600 further includes a structural support 630 upon which aflexible thematic overlay 640 is applied with a front surface 642 facingoutward (e.g., toward a viewer in a viewer space) and a rear surface 644facing inward toward the screen 614 to receive displayed content. In oneembodiment, the structural support 630 is a pane or sheet of transparentmaterial such as a polycarbonate sheet, a Lexan® sheet or the like andthe element 640 is a fabric sheet or sheet of chiffon with a printproviding a graphic/textual content on surface 642 that is visible to aviewer via diffuse reflection of viewer-side light.

FIG. 7 shows the display system 600 from behind with the emissivedisplay device 610 removed to expose the masking element 620. As shown,the masking element 620 includes a feathered mask 621 that is opaque(e.g., black paint or the like applied to a surface of the pane/sheet ofelement 620) and defines an irregular shaped (not simply a square,rectangle, a circle or the like that may be expected for a monitor) andfeathered edge of a viewing port or window 631 through a structuralsheet. When the emissive display device 610 is operated in a display oractive mode, its screen 614 will only be able to display content andemit light through port or window 631 to the rear surface 644 of thethematic overlay 640.

FIG. 8 shows the display system 600 from the front or a viewer's POV andwith the emissive display device 610 operating in an active mode withits screen 614 illuminated by a backlight source. The backlighting is ata brightness or illumination level that causes the displayed content tobe visible to a viewer as emissive display content 615 through thethematic overlay 640 (as well as through masking element 620 and astructural sheet with window 631). The displayed content 615 is onlyvisible through the window 631, and it is visible or perceivedconcurrently with diffuse reflection content from front surface 642 ofthematic overlay 640 such as with pattern/graphics 643 in this example.As shown in FIG. 8, the display or monitor screen 614 is not itselfvisible to a viewer but only the displayed content.

FIG. 9 illustrates another display system 910 that may be used toachieve a three dimensional (3D) illusion for a viewer 902. The displaysystem 910 includes a backlight source 912 upon which a translucentlayer 914, such as a sheet of paper, fabric, or the like providing abackground texture or graphical image (or text). Without more, thesystem 910 would allow the viewer 902 to view the background contentprovided by the layer 914 when the backlight source 912 is operated tolight the layer 914. The system 910 further includes a display monitor916 that functions as a source of foreground content such as text orgraphics. When the backlight source 912 is operated along with themonitor 916, the system 910 outputs a blended texture and displaycontent 918 that includes content from the texture or background layer914 as well as the display monitor or foreground content source 916.

In some embodiments, the display monitor 916 takes the form of an LCDmonitor or display screen with its polarized layers and that is operatedto digitally present the foreground content (e.g., from a media sourceas shown in FIG. 1), which may then be displayed concurrently with thecontent of the layer 914 by operation of the backlighting source 912(e.g., at a brightness to transmit light through layer 914 and alsothrough monitor 916). Due to the spacing of the layer 914 from the frontsurface of the monitor 916, a 3D parallax effect is achieved andperceived by viewer 902. In use, the content presented by monitor 916may readily be changed and updated while the background layer 914 andits media/content are retained.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certaindegree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in thecombination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,as hereinafter claimed.

It may be useful at this time to further discuss the display apparatusor system 100 of FIG. 1 to further explain how the unique displays ofthe present invention are achieved. The thematic overlay 110 may includea white printed layer or substrate 114 that possesses the samecharacteristics that provide a percent or amount of opacity as well as apercent or amount of transparency. For example, the back surface 116 mayinclude a graphic print layer possessing a particular percentage oramount of transparency. Light 124 from a light source 120 passes througha front surface 114 and strikes this print layer or back surface 116,which reflects an image or content 128 to a viewer's eye 102. The backlayer of white in this example serves to create a “backlight” toilluminate the front image 114, making it brighter and “punchy.” Thediffusion aspect of the back also diffuses the “pixel box.” Thetransparency amount or percentage of thematic overlay 116 is selected sothat this reflected image 128 is desirably blended with the content 138from the display device 130 that is emitted 140 to the viewer 102 suchthat the viewer 102 perceives the combination of light/content (orimagery) 128, 140 as all being reflected.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for displaying content to a viewer in a viewerspace, comprising: an emissive display device with a display screenproviding digital content and a light source for selectivelyarticulating and transmitting light through the display screen such thatthe digital content is visible as displayed content on a surface of thedisplay screen at an illumination level; and a thematic overlaypositioned over the display screen, wherein the thematic overlayincludes a rear surface facing the display screen and a front surface,opposite the rear surface, that is configured to provide diffusereflection of light striking the front surface from the viewer spacesuch that the front surface appears substantially opaque to the viewer,wherein the light source is first operated in an inactive mode andwherein the display screen is blocked from view by the viewer by thethematic overlay, wherein the light source is second operated in anactive mode to transmit the light through the display screen, wherein,in the active mode, the displayed content is transmitted through thethematic overlay as emissive display content, wherein the lightreflected by the front surface is visible by the viewer as diffusereflection content concurrently with the emissive display content,wherein the light reflected by the front surface is not specularreflection of the light striking the front surface from the viewerspace, wherein the thematic overlay is free of a specular reflectionsurface, and wherein a brightness of the light source, in the activemode, is adjusted to a level such that a brightness of the emissivedisplay content is 90 to 110 percent of a brightness of the diffusereflection content.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lightsource is adjustable to set the illumination level at a level such thatthe emissive display content has a brightness about equal to abrightness of the diffuse reflection content.
 3. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the diffuse reflection content includes a graphical componentwith a pattern and wherein the emissive display content includes agraphical component aligned with and repeating the pattern.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the thematic overlay comprises at leastone of a panel of wood veneer, a printed fabric, or a film with printedgraphics on the front surface.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein atleast a portion of the light reflected by the front surface that isconcurrently visible by the viewer with the emissive display content isreflected from an area of the thematic overlay adjacent to the displayscreen.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a mask betweenthe display screen of the emissive display device and the thematicoverlay, the mask including an opaque portion blocking the lighttransmitted through the display screen from reaching the rear surface ofthe thematic overlay and further including a window portion transmittingthe light transmitted through the display screen, whereby a subset ofthe display screen is used to provide the displayed content.
 7. A methodfor displaying content, comprising: positioning an emissive displaydevice behind a thematic overlay, the thematic overlay being at leastpartially translucent to light and further including a front exposedsurface that provides diffuse, non-specular reflection of light;operating the emissive display device to display a digital content fileon a display screen facing a rear surface of the thematic overlay,wherein the thematic overlay is free of a specular reflection surface;and based on a brightness of the diffuse reflection of the light fromthe front surface, adjusting an illumination level of a light source ofthe emissive display device to cause the display of the digital contentto be transmitted through the thematic overlay and blend with thediffuse reflection as emissive display content, wherein the illuminationlevel of the light source is set such that the emissive display contenthas a brightness that is 90 to 110 percent of the brightness of thediffuse reflection.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the digitalcontent file is generated in part by creating a digital image of thefront surface of the thematic overlay, whereby the digital content fileincludes at least one graphical component from the front surface.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, further including operating the emissive displaydevice to halt display of the digital content file and second operatingthe emissive display device to display an additional digital contentfile on the display screen to present additional emissive displaycontent.
 10. The method of claim 7, further including adjusting aviewer-side light source providing the light striking the front surfaceto change the blend of the diffuse reflection and the displayed content,whereby the display screen is blocked from view by the thematic overlay.11. A display system, comprising: a media source providing digitalcontent for display; an electronic display device communicatively linkedto the media source with a monitor screen displaying the digital contentand with a light source for providing light to the monitor screen at aselectable brightness; a diffuse display element layer positionedbetween a viewer space and the monitor screen with a rear surface facingthe monitor screen and a front surface facing the viewer space, whereinthe front surface provides diffuse reflection of light from a lightsource in the viewer space without specular reflection from the rearsurface into the viewer space and wherein the brightness of the lightsource of the display device is great enough in magnitude to cause thedigital content to pass through the content provided by the diffusedisplay element layer as emissive display content, wherein thebrightness of the light source of the display device is adjusted to alevel such that a brightness of the emissive display content is 90 to110 percent of the brightness of the diffuse reflection and wherein thebrightness of the diffuse reflection remains unchanged when the monitorscreen is performing the displaying of the digital content and when themonitor screen is in an inactive mode.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the diffuse display element layer comprises a thickness offabric, wood, paper, glass, or plastic and wherein the rear and frontsurfaces are at least partially translucent to light.
 13. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the electronic display device comprises an LCD orplasma display with a brightness of at least about 400 nit.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, further comprising a masking element positionedbetween the monitor screen and rear surface of the diffuse displayelement layer, the masking element including a mask that issubstantially opaque to light and defining a display window smaller insize than and differing in shape than the monitor screen and comprisinga feathered or hard edge.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the viewerspace light source is adjusted such that the light striking the frontsurface provides a brightness level for the diffuse reflection thatblocks view of the monitor screen through the diffuse display elementlayer.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the digital content providedby the media source comprises a graphical element matching a graphicalelement on the front surface and wherein the monitor screen is alignedwith the rear surface to align a portion of the graphical element in thedigital content with the graphical element on the front surface.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the diffuse display element layer comprisesa thickness of translucent material and wherein the front surface has aporous consistency such that it provides non-specular reflection of thelight from the light source in the viewer space.